Annual Salary
£20,000 to £52,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Intelligence analysts use data to detect and prevent crime and protect UK security and the economy.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; at short notice
There will be
2.4% more Intelligence analyst jobs in 2027.
As an intelligence analyst you'll:
You could work in an office or in a court.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
You can become an intelligence analyst with a degree in a wide range of subjects. However, you could gain useful skills from a degree that includes data analysis, for example:
You'll usually need:
You could do an apprenticeship such as:
You'll usually need:
You might be able to start in a related job in the security services like researcher or language specialist. You could then apply to join an intelligence officer training programme.
If you work for the police, you could apply to become a police intelligence officer. Each police force sets its own entry requirements.
You could apply for MI5's Intelligence and Data Analyst Development Programme if you have a degree or relevant work experience.
You might also be able to apply through the Civil Service Fast Stream or to the National Crime Agency.
Applications can take up to 9 months. As part of the process, you'll need to be ready to answer questions about your personal life, relationships, family and finances.
You'll need to:
Summer internship schemes and student placements are a useful way to find out more about the role and the recruitment process.
In more specialist roles, you might find it useful to be able to speak a different language.
You can find out more about a career in intelligence from:Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ); Secret Intelligence Service, often known as MI6; Security Service, often known as MI5; National Crime Agency; UK Cyber Security Council
With experience, you could work as a senior intelligence analyst. You would give specialist advice, assess trends and support managers to make decisions.
To get to senior intelligence analyst roles, you would usually follow an established career path created by the organisation you work for.
You could also move to a related area of work within your organisation, for example applying to become a police officer.
You can find out more about a career in intelligence from the security agencies:
You'll need: